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M is for Myanmar

Since I was a kid I have been obsessed with Aung San Suu Kyi. She is such an incredible woman, responsible for many great things in Burma. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and used the money to set up a health and education trust for the people of Burma. In spite of this, Aung San Suu Kyi had been held under house arrest for 15 years because she was "a threat to the peace" of Burma.

Myanmar has been a troubled land, but the embargo on tourism has been lifted since the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and since she has been sworn in as leader of the country. The people of Burma are supposedly everything the regime they've lived under isn't, gentle, calm, inquisitive and they want to be a part of the rest of the world.

The capital city Yangon, formerly Rangoon, is known for it's beautiful pagoda's. The top three are the Botataung, Sule and Shwedagon.

Myanmar also has beautiful beaches, the best of those are Ngapali Beach. It's beautiful with it's idyllic palm lined shore. Then there's Chaung Tha is the place that the middle class of Myanmar go. They play football on the beach, float around on rubber rings, and plodding up and down the sand on ponies.

Another place that should go on your itinerary is Inya Lake. To explore here, you need to brave the intense sunshine, with only umbrellas scattered around it to keep people in the shade. The lake is famous not only for it's size, but for the residents that have lived along it. At one end of the lake lived Aung San Suu Kyi and at the other the dictator, who imprisoned her there on house arrest, Ne Win until he died in 2002.

Myanmar is surely among the most beautiful countries in the world. But their leaders' history is pretty interesting.. although Aung San Suu Kyi was held captive for 15 years, which was quite long, it totally paid off. Now she's continuing her advocacy for the betterment of her people.

Hear, hear. Such a great person and such a great leader- even when she was locked up. Her advocacy for peace was incredible, taking her imprisonment on the chin. Amazing. I'm so pleased how things are starting to go in Myanmar.

Sammi, thanks for the summary of Myanmar! I absolutely loved the country, but since it was still rainy season when I visited, I spent most of my time further north in the country. So Ngapali Beach and Inya Lake are still two places I can look forward to visiting when next time in Myanmar… :)

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